The Edge

Chapter Two

By the time Alyssa awoke the next morning, it was already noon and the sun had risen high in the sky. Bolting up, she frantically searched for her phone.

"Come on, come on. Please don't tell me I'm late for school...Mr. Flannigan will write me up, maybe even suspend me! For the love of all that's cute and cuddly, do not let me be late," she desperately begged the universe, as she continued her desperate search. Finally she found it- under her pillow, of all places- and swiped the screen up to unlock it...

"Thank Dog. It's Saturday" she sighed as her moment of panic slowly slipped away. She lay there for a few more minutes, then decided it was time to get up out of bed, take a nice hot shower, eat some food- would it be breakfast, since she just woke up, or lunch, with the time of day? She didn't know, and frankly, she didn't care. After she ate, she might even go for a walk.

Upon stepping out of the shower, she surveyed the scene before her. She mostly bypassed the makeup, but did take the time to put on some mascara and eyeliner. She walked further down the counter, and grabbed a towel to dry her long, dark hair. Everyone always told her that her hair was so black it almost looked blue in certain lighting. It probably helped that she also had icy blue eyes, and could deliver a piercing stare if she so chose. Stepping out of the bathroom, she snagged her brush and ran it through her hair, erasing all the tangles that would simply reappear the next morning.

Once her hair was silky and smooth, she headed downstairs and grabbed some leftover pizza from the fridge. As it was warming up in the microwave, she grabbed a chilled Cherry Coke from the cooler by the back door...Beep! Beep! Beep! She grabbed her pizza and went to eat her food in the small window seat on the landing of the stairs.

After nearly inhaling her late meal, she grabbed her sneakers and Bluetooth headphones from her room. Back in the kitchen, she plucked her phone from the counter where she had left it, and set out, listening to some of her all-time favorite songs. Not caring what other people would think, she started lip-synching the words as she walked her usual route- along the local cemetery. She had gotten approximately halfway around the cemetery, now also dance-walking to the music, when she heard a twig snap behind her. She whirled around, and froze...There, standing barely ten feet away from her, was a wolf. It was a male, and his fur was pure black. Having a wolf this close to her without anything to defend herself would be enough in itself to fill Alyssa with dread, but then she noticed his paw... His right front paw was the brilliantly soft white of freshly fallen snow.

The wolf made no move towards her, nor did he run when she screamed and sprinted in the other direction. Instead, he did something strange; when he saw her run away in fear, he flattened his ears and let out a low whimper, still watching her hasty retreat.

Alyssa raced home not daring to slow down until she had slammed and locked the door behind her. She clutched a stitch in her side, and tried to catch her breath. Was she going crazy? How had she dreamt of that wolf, and then seen the very same one at the cemetery? No... it wasn't possible. It was more likely that it was some strange coincidence, or it could have just been a large black dog, and her stress from her dreams had turned it into something more...That had to be it...right? Okay, calm down...just calm down...

She sat there, the possibilities racing through her head, and decided to call Tom to see what he could make of it.

"Wait...wait, what?" questioned Tom once she had told him everything that had happened, starting with her dreams, and finishing with her experience at the cemetery.

"I know," she said. "It's not possible, right?"

"Okay... I know how we can figure this out. We're going to go back to the cemetery, take a picture of its pawprints if we can find any, and search the web to see what type of animal they belong to."